Hydro Eclectic Power

While Watsu is always performed above water, another technique Hennin performed on me, called Wassertanzen, includes work below the surface. Wassertanzen means "water dance" and was created in 1987 by Swiss Germans Arjana Brunschwiler and Aman Schroter. "Wassertanzen is very different [from Watsu] because of the challenge it presents for a person to surrender control of his breath to go underwater," wrote Dull.

Indeed. I took a deep breath to indicate Hennin could dunk me. He then gently plunged me underwater, where he flipped me into somersaults and at times walked on my back to massage me. The Wassertanzen session unlocked some strange emotions and images. One moment, I felt like a hippie in a rebirthing session. ("Mommy!" my insides cried out. Hennin told me I could suck my thumb. I declined.) Another time, I felt like a swaying mermaid and thought I heard dolphins singing.

Ultimately, Wassertanzen made me dizzy and confused. Sensing this, Hennin quickly returned to Watsu, and explained what contributed to my negative experience. "If you feel seasick, you are battling the line between the conscious and the unconscious. Most people break through that and let go to enter a free flow. It's similar to becoming a part of the cosmos," he said, "like a planet."

--Therese Droste

Brahms' Not-So-Sweet Dreams

Composer Famed for His Lullaby Suffered From Sleep Apnea

He's quieted millions of babies with his famous lullaby, but Johannes Brahms didn't sleep well himself.

The famed German composer apparently suffered from obstructive sleep apnea, a common, dangerous condition marked by sudden interruptions of breathing while sleeping, heavy snoring, sleep deprivation and excessive daytime sleepiness. Sleep apnea was not recognized as a medical problem during Brahms' life in the 19th century, but Philadelphia physician Mitchell L. Margolis says descriptions about the composer and some of his quirky habits provide strong clues that he had the ailment.

For instance, his snoring was well known, and an account by baritone George Henschel of a joint concert tour describes Brahms' "impertinently healthy habit of snoring [that] would mean death to any hope of sleep on my part." The composer was also famed as a napper, noted for being able to "drop off to sleep in a second," according to Margolis's research, which was reported last week in the journal Chest. "In later years, portly Brahms frequently snoozed in the afternoon in the cafes of Vienna, and his motionless flowing beard comprised a familiar sight for gawking tourists. . . . Brahms would sometimes fall asleep at the table or theater box," Margolis found.

He also suffered from upper body obesity and was known to indulge liberally in alcohol, two other characteristics associated with sleep apnea.

Still, Brahms lived into his 64th year and died of panceatic cancer. But the sleep apnea probably took a toll on his ability to function well and get along with people, Margolis speculates. Brahms never married and was known for his prickly personality.

"One wonders," Margolis concludes, "if the disorder contributed to lifelong alienation from friends and marriage. . . . thereby indirectly nurturing his determined devotion to the creation of his immortal music."

--Lexie Verdon